We have had another successful month at The Platform with good sales and an interesting array of visitors.  We are lucky enough to have someone who is very involved in tourism as one of our members and she has described the changing nature of the way Chinese people, in particular, are engaging with Australia. People are more confident in travelling beyond the major cities. They are looking for authentic experiences, unique locations and a point of difference in the products offered. Certainly nothing made in China. This group of people were the epitome of this. They had driven from Melbourne to Uluru and were heading back to Adelaide. They bought 3 small paintings and 2 large ones and a hand made necklace. Then we all had photos taken with the local artists. Here are some suggestions to be followed up at the next meeting and of course we would like to hear what everyone has in mind. Possibilities for next year 2018 Acrylic workshop ( Di Turner) Portrait painting or

Today was a particularly busy Saturday at The Platform, finding a car park was quite difficult. The Pichi Richi Afghan Express was busy again with many of the travellers popping into the gallery before boarding the train. The Port Augusta Music Club, which shares the gallery space, held a range of workshops with 30 people from around the region participating.  Workshops included Guitar/Songwriting with John Sharp, Ukulele with John Mansfield, Singing with Anna Beach, Penny Whistle with Bella Bishop.  It is fantastic to see all the great spaces at The Platform being put to use and enjoyed by so many people. Thanks to Georgie and Port Augusta Music Group for the photos.

We have had the floor oiled  and  currently have Dianne's lovely exhibition on display (don't miss it). As a spin off from that activity there has been a bit of a "Spring Clean" at the gallery, especially in the back rooms. There is still a bit of work to do but  we invite people to check out the progress and help out by taking home items that have been around for a while or do not fit with our requirements - see procedures book.  The filing cabinet, photo albums and other records are all in the store room along with the trolleys with tools for hanging art works. The white cupboard that was in the back hall is now in the kitchen. The Art Books and Artist tools are in the Kitchen area. All works that are not needed in current gallery displays have been stored in the storeroom and grouped according to artist. We have endeavoured to stack the work carefully in a dry area of the store room but encourage people to take work home if they need to store it

Fifteen people were lucky enough to participate in Margo's "Tricks of the Trade" workshop that was organised by Patsy on behalf of Curdnatta Art Group. Margo has a diploma in Art Teaching and a Bachelor of Education ( majoring in Painting), In 1988 she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts of South Australia. She has won numerous art awards for her works in acrylics and water colours.  People explored a range of techniques and appreciated Margo's wealth of knowledge. A special thank you to The Port Augusta Cultural Centre for allowing us to hold the workshop in the Institute building. Margo is allergic to oil and turps based products and of course the long awaited oiling of the Platform Gallery floor coincided with the workshop.

August started with a flurry of activity when we were advised that the gallery floors would be oiled on the Wednesday. The call for help, to remove all furniture from the gallery and then return it on Thursday, was well met and as the saying goes "many hands made light work".  We then had a clean slate for setting up Dianne Turner's exhibition and creating yet another new look for THE PLATFORM. The styling team swept through the place on Friday creating a little bit of magic. Morgan created a lovely floral piece for the desk (so many talented people ;)) View the video at      https://vimeo.com/228517177 About 50 people came through the gallery on Saturday and everyone benefited from sales.